F#s - What’s This All About???
by Susan Alexjander, MA
If you Google F# you come up with almost two million possible references,
mostly about MicroSoft software and music theory. However if you
Google F# Great Pyramid Egypt you get 380 picks. The Great Pyramid?!!
What began as a fun hobby for me in the l980s - collecting information
about specific pitches - has turned into a dedicated treasure hunt.
As a composer I love all tones including microtones, but there is
something special about F#. This pitch holds a fascination. It keeps
coming up. This article will focus on F/F#s which appear in the
following places:
1. The Great Pyramid
2. DNA
3. Water
4. Schumann Resonances
5. Crop Circles
6. Vela X Pulsar
7. ‘further references.
Collecting the Data:
‘Frequency’ encompasses more than audible sound. If
we enlarge our perspective to take in the fullest possible view
of our vibrational world, then frequency can be just about anything...an
angle, electromagnetic energy, thoughts and feelings, shapes, language.
If we have a number for the ‘frequency’, such as an
angle of 45 degrees, we can start to build data. This is admittedly
a strange country, difficult to define or explain until our mindset
adjusts to it. We have no overall template or blueprint to refer
to, but the work I and many others do reveals that there are patterns
which speak to us through these numbers. Math is often ‘mythic,’
it tells stories; shows how things communicate; lends meaning. Numbers
can show the hidden patterns of cosmic creation. Pattern/number
fascination is found today among artists, scientists, musicians,
astronomers and above all, by those devotees of sacred geometry.
I am indebted to them all.
Capturing F#:
The most obvious source is to begin with that which we have agreed
to call the pitch, or tone, of F#. I use the tuning scale where
C = 1 cycle per second, or 1Hertz. The numbers on this scale are
slightly flatter than the scale using C=l.03 (A = 440). On the tuning
chart where C=1, all F#s fall in octaves on the following hertz
numbers (rounded off):
1.4, 2.8, 5.6, 11.25, 22.5, 45, 90, 180, 360, 720, 1440 etc.
(An octave is a frequency either doubled, or halved). So, finding
an actual tone mentioned in connection with sound on one of these
octaves is then the first and most direct method.
A second way to gather this ‘tone’ involves a leap of
faith into a view of our universe as pure vibration. This Nada Brahma
(The World Is Sound) cosmology has long been celebrated by ancient
civilizations such as India, China, Greece and many others. It has
resurfaced in our century as Total Holism - a perspective of interconnection
- with the enthusiastic backing of much mainstream science. And,
if one suspends the usual restrictions on what we normally think
of as ‘vibration,’ then any energetic event, whether
it is an audible tone, or electromagnetic frequency (also measured
in Hertz), or time cycle, or rhythm, etc. can be related to an actual
sound as long as we have a number. For instance, 90 years can also
be related to a vibration of 90 which, IF it were sound, would correlate
to an F# on our tuning chart. This is an abstract stretch, but an
extremely valid way to build patterns. I.e: collect all the 90s
you can find and see if they have commonalities. Do they have energies
in common? Do they relate to similar things? Can they begin to tell
a story?
The third method - Gematria - is an ancient art of profound integrity
found in almost every established language in the world. Gematria
is a method of assigning numbers to letters of the alphabet to measure
energetic patterns. For instance, A = 1, B = 2, etc. Languages such
as Hebrew, Aramaic, Sanskrit, Arabic and even English have slightly
different ways of doing this. I have taken the simplest method of
going steadily through the alphabet from A = 1 to Z = 26, but with
an extra step. I then add up the numbers of a word and call that
a Hertz number, or a frequency. For instance: Thunder = 20+8+21+14+4+5+18
= you guessed it, 90. F#.
These three methods taken together form the data base. Little bits
here and there don’t mean much, but like filings on a magnetic
plate, they begin to collect and form a shape or, in this author’s
vision, a tantalizing glimpse into that abstract realm which informs
the Whole. So, here we go.
1. THE GREAT PYRAMID AT GIZA
Many respected researchers now feel that the Great Pyramid may have
been deliberately ‘tuned’ as a resonator. About six
years ago, Tom Danley, an acoustics engineer who used to work for
NASA, was invited to Egypt by the producer of the movie The Mystery
of the Sphinx to measure sound in the King’s Chamber. Using
highly sophisticated equipment, he commented as follows:
I found some very low frequency sound…resonances which start
at a few Hz and go upward to 15-20 Hz or so. At least some of these
were the same LF resonances I excited with my sweep, but not all
of the them. This
sound was present even if everyone is silent. I crunched the results
of the measurements, and they were sent on to a musicologist that
was part of the staff. As mentioned, he identified that there was
a pattern of frequencies which roughly form an Fsharp chord. Not
all the resonances fell in the right place but many did, and some
repeated the pattern for many octaves. In other words, it was roughly
tuned to F# over many octaves.
Danley also uses the description: ...some kind of an F# chord. He
infers then that there can be many variations and that the ‘chord’
does not have to fall exactly on the correct numbers for F or F#
on our tuning scale, but only in the region of those tones... F/F#,
A/A#, C/C# - a triad. Also, the octave levels he measured would
have been inaudible to a human ear but rather felt as pulses. Danley
goes on to wonder if these infrasonic tones were used deliberately
to alter brainwaves. Christopher Dunn (Giza Power Plant) in 1998
proposed that the Great Pyramid was actually a large acoustical
device, analogous to a huge musical instrument. By its size and
dimensions, this edifice is an integer of the Earth's own dimensions.
Dunn believes that the Pyramid had a harmonic relationship to the
Earth and was capable of responding sympathetically with the Earth's
resonance. Evidence found within the Grand Gallery supports his
contention that resonators for converting vibration to airborne
sound were installed there. Page 163 offers many measurements which,
if they were frequencies, would be F#s, A#s and C#s. Also, Dr. Robert
Schoch of Boston University (Pyramid Quest) agreed after his on-site
study of the Great Pyramid that it was like a giant musical instrument.
Finally, it is well-known that the sarcophagus in the King’s
Chamber is tuned to A = 438. Musicians such as Paul Horn have recorded
this and made music with it. If you would like to hear these pyramid
chords, please see the end of this article.
(note: I tried to email Tom Danley but received no reply. Later
I was told that he had signed a disclaimer for the Egyptian government
and was forbidden to speak further about his findings. I don’t
know if this is true or not).
2. DNA
In l989 I completed a translation of electromagnetic frequencies
gathered from the four DNA bases, cytosine, guanine, adenine and
thymine, into a sonic medium. I was assisted by Dr. David Deamer,
noted cell-biologist at the University of California Santa Cruz.
Briefly, I found 60 ‘pitches’ ranging over a two and
one-half octave. Out of those 60, 18 were Fs and F#s, 6 were C#s,
and 3 were A/A#s...a total of 27 or almost HALF, corresponding to
the tunings of the Great Pyramid. Most of these probably came from
the water molecules in our DNA: hydrogen and oxygen. (The entire
process can be read on my website: www.OurSoundUniverse.com, in
an IEEE article).
3. WATER
Molecular water frequencies also correspond to ‘some kind
of an F#
chord. Again, Dr. Deamer provided me with the wave numbers of water
which are:
1600 converted to hertz = 698 F/F#
2100 converted to hertz = 918 A#
3500 converted to hertz = 134.58 C#
Wave numbers are collected from a device called a spectrophotometer
which measures vibrational activity occurring in molecular activity
(see IEEE article).
The significance of water to our planet is of course indescribable.
It is that humblest of servants, going about it’s business
of life (even from the starry heavens) largely unnoticed because
it is so literally who we are. Water is the great connector, creating
our weather, balancing the temperatures of our planet, bringing
life and recycling. Water is found in sunspots, in stars (the Orion
Cloud Complex), at the center of the earth in the form of hydrated
silicate; everywhere. It is in our bodies (roughly 70%) in the same
proportion that it is found on the body of our planet. For an astounding
read on water, see Marrin in references.
4. SCHUMANN RESONANCES
Not only are we are about 75% water, we are also literally swimming
in the Schumann Resonances. These electromagnetic frequencies, mostly
infrasonic and unheard, occur in the cavity between the earth’s
crust and the ionosphere about 35 miles above the earth. They are
activated by lightening storms and the sun. The basic frequency,
7.8Hz. creates a standing wave around the earth (traveling around
the earth 7.8 times/second). The figure fluctuates by plus or minus
0.5Hz daily, as the ionosphere fluctuates. In addition to this base
frequency of 7.8Hz, there are quasi-harmonics at (rounded off) 14,
19, 25, 30, 36, and 42 Hz, corresponding to the following tones:
B/C, A, D#, G/G#, B, D, and E/F. So far no F#s. But a curious thing
happens when these frequency numbers are octavised up. Instead of
the usual doubling to create the octave above (i.e the octave above
440 = 880) - the method used in linear harmonics and ‘standard’
physics - when working with the harmonics of a sphere the rules
are different. Instead of reaching an exact doubling of the original
number, a slight collapse takes place and the upper number is less
than an octave. When you ‘octavise’ the Schumann frequencies
into our hearing range, six of the seven tones are F#s, A#s and
C#s. The seventh is a D#. As they ascend they become even more like
the ‘pyramid chords: F/F#, A/A#, C/C#. I haven’t a clue
what this means, beyond imagining a theoretical tuning’ taking
place on our physical plane. (See First, refs.)
So far we have collected F# data from the traditional sciences of
acoustics, spectrophotometry (water and DNA) and physics. The fifth
source derives from astronomy but has a fascinating story attached
to it....the origin of the Sumerian God EA:
5. VELA X Pulsar (PSR 0833-45)
The Vela X pulsar was discovered in l968, but was born when a supernova
in the Gum Nebula, constellation Vela in our Milky Way, blew up
sometime between 11,000 and 7000BC (difficult for our scientists
to measure at this time). It would have been visible on earth around
1300 light years later, to the ancient Mesopotamians and/or Sumerians,
shining for months in the Southern sky. One scientist describes
it this way:
It would have hung low over the Mediterranean, shining as bright
as the moon, with an endlessly dancing, varying mass of fire, shooting
spears of intense color every way like a fountain...flooding pulsing
illumination.
A pulsar is what’s left after a supernova has blown up and
collapsed down into a dense star. These explosions occur when a
star runs out of hydrogen to burn and gravity takes over. It collapses
down and becomes incredibly dense...a matchbox full would weigh
a billion tons. A pulsar’s energy expands and lights up the
nebula around it. It possesses a powerful magnetic field that traps
and accelerates charged particles and shoots them through space
as radio waves. Their rapid rotation makes them powerful electric
generators, capable of accelerating charged particles to energies
of millions of volts - a million times greater than those of lightning
bolts. These voltages create a blizzard of electrons and anti-matter
electrons, or positrons...equal to the force of thousands of suns!
The VelaX is rotating these powerful voltages like a lighthouse,
at a frequency of 11.24 cycles per second - F#. It is also traveling
in orbit as a binary system at 90km/sec -another F# association.
We know of more than 1000 pulsars, so what makes this one special?
This supernova flash might have altered the course of our planet’s
development. There are references to it in Sumarian cuneaform, and
on the mural from Tell Ghassul is an eight-pointed star painted
with sophisticated compounds of 12 to l8 minerals. (Teleilat Ghassul,
orTulaylât al-Ghassûl, is a large Late Neolithic and
Chalcolithic settlement in the lower Jordan Valley some 5-6 km.
northeast of the Dead Sea).
It would have burned at least 50 times brighter than Venus. George
Michanowsky’s wonderful book The Once And Future Star tells
the story of what this pulsar must have meant to the Sumerians (or
earlier cultures) and traces the origins of their highest god, EA
(Babylonian; formerly Enki), to Vela. A supernova event characterizes
Death and Transfiguration, as the dying star explodes to birth new
elements essential for life. The explosions provide energy for the
birth of new stars and also accelerate high-energy cosmic rays that
cause many of the mutations needed for the evolution of life. Some
scientists feel that the radiation from the Vela, particularly neutrinos,
could have changed rates of solar nuclear reactions and increased
the sun’s luminosity. The Vela explosion might have begun
the sun’s cycle of intensity and could even have been a powerful
organizing force upon civilization. Michanowsky says:
The psychological and possibly environmental impact of the Vela
starburst triggered a development in their culture that, in a short
time span, made them something entirely different from what they
had been before. For better or worse, humanity had thus quite suddenly
bitten into the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
The Vela and Crab pulsars are the only known ones to emit visible
light - another mystery. If you add the Pulsar Code theories of
Jose Arguelles into this mix, it begins to look as though pulsars
have a vital role to play in ‘stepping down’ powerful
frequencies emitted by the Central Sun in the center of our Milky
Way as these vibrations travel to earth. (Just recently scientists
detected pulses from our galactic center and remain mystified by
them). Arguelles says:
These neutron stars are actually inter-dimensional intersections
piercing the veil of third-dimensional mind. There are many different
kinds of these intersections. Through each inter-dimensional intersection,
g-force bleeds through in a kind of beam. These galactic beams are
synchronously triggered. There are greater and lesser periods of
activation of these beams...etc. (Arcturus Probe)
6. CROP CIRCLES
Crop Circles are fortunately gaining more respect as scientists
continue to legitimize their amazing properties. I am going to mention
a few F# references by Freddy Silva from his book Secrets In The
Fields.
When Jane Ross and I earlier had sat inside the ‘Grid Square
(within the Etchilhampton Flower Circle – l997), we recorded
an oscillating, high-pitched tone. Its purpose was later made clear
during a channeling session. ..’The frequency of the note
that they gave us is important…to be used in the ‘opening’
process. It’s a frequency that needs to be used to complete
the opening for the individual.’ That note – F# - creates
an unusual oscillating effect between the two cavities of the brain,
especially when generated by the tuned resonant cavity of a quartz
crystal bowl. It has a frequency of 5.8 kHz (5800 Hz) and is traditionally
associated with the tone of the Earth; this is a whisker away from
that other frequency associated with crop circles..the trilling
noise…and its frequency of 5.2kHz. (ME: not really a whisker.
It’s almost a whole step away…from E to F#. Just under)
p.293
F# happens to be the resonant frequency inside the Grand Gallery
of the Great Pyramid at Gizeh, and the floor of the corbelled chamber
is inclined at an angle of 26.3027 degrees, making its vertical
height twenty-eight feet (F#) and the height perpendicular to the
floor twenty-five feet (E), which are the Grid Square hum and the
trilling noise, respectively. The Circlemakers and the Pyramid designers
appear to share the same technology. Essentially, the Great Pyramid
contains the necessary ingredients that make it a kind of transformational,
possibly inter-dimensional temple….its effects on the molecules
of steel, meat, and particularly water are already well known.
And F# is regarded with great respect by the ancient Chinese as
Hu, the tone of the Earth. (Hu is also referenced by HI Khan as
the origin of sound)). Native American flute makers to this day
tune their instruments to serenade Mother Earth to this note. Silva
also references acoustician Tom Danley’s work where he measures
the resonant frequencies in the Great Pyramid (cited above): The
notes form an F# chord which, according to ancient Egyptian texts,
was the harmonic of our planet. Danley’s tests show that these
frequencies are present in the King’s Chamber even when no
sounds are being produced. (from an interview on the Laura Lee Radio
Show, Seattle, l997).
7. Some further F# References:
a. 360 is often referred to as Spherical Consciousness i.e. expanded
awareness.
b. 11.11 = F/F# an opening gateway for mind expansion.’
c. speed of light = 363.83 F# (186,282.3959Hz)
d. Gematria of Consciousness = 175 (F/F#)
e. Gematria of Zero Point Field = 174 (F/F#)
d. Gematrias of hate + love = 88
good + evil = 89
yin + yan = 88....all octaves of F/F#.
Conclusions:
I vote for an intelligent web of connection - possibly a template,
a grid, a Great Tone River as a carrier wave for frequency and information.
Were the Egyptians trying to anchor to this grid? or to act as a
conduit between heaven and earth? So many questions arise. But it
seems reasonable to conclude that water is the glue, the communicator,
that holds everything together....the huge entity, if you will,
that supports vibrational energies traveling between dimensions.
I believe that we are glimpsing a grand cosmology and that these
energetic connections are part of a web of vital sentience. My vision
is that we bring our different puzzle pieces together in a shared
design. What might we find?
As a composer I like making music with these tones just to see/hear
what happens. Sonic relationships are exciting and great beauty
can be found there. But for certain I want to be on the train, in
the middle, and at the party if and when a huge transformation happens
soon to this planet. I’m betting it will, and it’ll
be the only game in town.
Comments are most welcomed. Please write to:
Susan Alexjander
xjander@got.net
www.OurSoundUniverse.com
Note: I’m able to create microtones on my Yamaha DX7 and
have come up with seven possible chords using slightly different
F#s (more correctly, F/F#s) as the root of the chord. One is based
on the sarcophagus tuning, another using octaves of 11.11, another
using the Sepher Yetzirah, and so forth. I call them Pyramid Chords,
and when two or three of them are played simultaneously they have
a weird and haunting effect. Please contact me if you would like
further information, or a sound file. You can also hear them in
the soundtrack of Zero Waiting, a video ‘short’ by myself
and Diana Hobson (available from OurSoundUniverse.com). SA
References:
1. Alexjander, Susan. The Infrared Frequencies of DNA Bases: Science
and Art, IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Journal, March/April
1999. (entire reprint www.OurSoundUniverse.com)
2. Arguelles, Jose. The Arcturus Probe; Tales and Reports of an
Ongoing Investigation (see appendix: Pulsar Codes). Light Technology
Publishing. Sedona, AZ, l996.
3. Danley, Tom. Early Reflections, Live Sound Magazine, July/August
2000.
4. Dunn, Christopher. The Giza Power Plant. Bear & Company,
Santa Fe, New Mexico. l998.
5. First, David, The Music of the Sphere, Leonardo Journal 2003.
6. Marrin, West. Universal Water: The Ancient Wisdom and Scientific
Theory of Water. Inner Ocean Publ, Maui, HI. 2002.
7. Michanowsky, George. The Once and Future Star. Hawthorn Books,
Inc. New York, l977.
8. Silva, Freddy. Secrets In The Fields. Hampton Roads Pub. Co.,
Inc.,
Charlottsville, VA. 2002.
